Today, I helped out at the new @NeighbourFoodIE Food Hub in Skibbereen. Now that the farmers markets have been closed, people still need their fresh local food and want to support local businesses. Many local producers have come together to organise box collections. #WestCork

No cash is exchanged, people order online and pay in advance and are given staggered times to collect their box, so social distancing and other safety advice is being closely followed. #COVID19

This crisis has exposed a lot of fragility in the way we do things. From a food security and sustainability perspective, it’s underlining our dependence on other countries for the vast majority of our fruit and vegetables.

People rolled their eyes at the news that Brexit UK is worrying about getting Eastern European pickers to harvest – but we will be affected by that too, not just in terms of our own local producers, but because we rely on them and other countries for staples like potatoes.

It’s not just things like avocados we import – truth is, we import a lot that could be grown here, that used to grow here. Many are noticing that it’s hard to buy flour at the moment; more than 95% of our flour comes from the UK. 2/3 of our cattle feed comes from South America.

Ireland has the lowest % of farms growing veg in the EU – around 1%. Only 0.2% of the EU’s vegetables are grown here. Our fruit levels are so low that things like tomatoes don’t even register. Less than 1% of Irish farms have an orchard – compared to the EU where it’s almost 15%.

In many ways it’s not surprising – when @creedcnw talks about farmers, he inevitably means cattle, we seldom hear about our horticulture sector. Even the fact that public allotments have been closed underlines a sense that there is no value in producing fruit and vegetables here.

I’m not saying this to cause panic – it’s a safe bet that every country will pull out all the stops to bring in the harvest.

But maybe it’s time to have a re-think about our food supply chain. Time to think about what represents a well-balanced and sustainable agri-economy.

That begins with reforming what we subsidise, incentivise and support. And it ends with ensuring producers get a fair price for their work.

Our agri-food sector has SO much potential. Maybe now is a good time to start this conversation.